How does time-sharing impact child support payments?

On behalf of Nachlis & Fink posted in child support on Tuesday, January 16, 2018.

As Californians know, child custody and parenting plans can take on many distinctive forms. Matters related to the custody of children are driven by the needs and interests of the youths whose lives are controlled by the orders and agreements made for them. As such, it is not uncommon for a child of divorced or separated parents to spend some of their time in the custody of one parent and the rest of their time in the custody of the other.

When both parents share custody of their kids, it can be a little bit more complicated to work out how much support the parents need to pay. Time sharing can impact child support orders to the extent that both parents must share in the financial support of their child and that support must be balanced against the amount of time the child spends with each of their parents.

The state of California employs a complex formula that computes how time sharing may impact a child support determination. The presence of additional children either shared by the parents or over whom the parents are responsible can also influence how much support they are responsible to pay.

The amount of income that each of the parents earns is also an important factor in setting an appropriate child support award. As so many factors may influence the outcome of a child support determination hearing, it can be important that parents receive good counsel regarding the child support laws of their jurisdictions. California family law attorneys can serve the interests of San Francisco parents who want to work for their children's prosperous and stable financial futures.